The Biebs calls the accident 'tragic' and sends his prayers to the victim's family, while Miley hopes the incident will bring on some changes in the way paparazzi work.
- Jan 3, 2013
AceShowbiz - Justin Bieber has sent his condolence following the death of a paparazzo who was struck by another car while chasing the star's Ferrari. "While I was not present nor directly involved with this tragic accident, my thoughts and prayers are with the family of the victim," the Canadian singer said in a statement.
"Hopefully this tragedy will finally inspire meaningful legislation and whatever other necessary steps to protect the lives and safety of celebrities, police officers, innocent public bystanders, and the photographers themselves."
The incident also caught the attention of Miley Cyrus, who has a similar hope to Justin. She tweeted, "Hope this paparazzi/JB accident brings on some changes in '13 Paparazzi are dangerous! Wasn't Princess Di enough of a wake up call?!"
The former "Hannah Montana" star defended Justin, saying, "It is unfair for anyone to put this on to Justin's conscious." She added, "Your mom teaches u when your a child not to play in the street! The chaos that comes with the paparazzi acting like fools makes it impossible for anyone to make safe choices."
On Tuesday, January 1, a paparazzo was hit by a Toyota Highlander when trying to take pictures of Justin's white Ferrari, which was pulled over by California Highway Patrol for speeding along Interstate 405, authorities said. The "Boyfriend" singer himself wasn't in the car, which was steered by his friend.
"This photographer evidently had been following the white Ferrari" and when it was pulled over he parked his own vehicle across the street and crossed to get closer to Justin's car and take pictures of it, authorities said. The CHP officer told the photographer at least twice that it wasn't safe for him to be there and to return to his vehicle.
It was when the photog turned around and walked back to his car that he was hit "by an uninvolved vehicle," LAPD Sgt. Rudy Lopez told the press. He was taken by ambulance to nearby Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, but was pronounced dead at 6:20 P.M.
While authorities haven't officially released the name of the said paparazzo, TMZ reports that the victim was Chris Guerra. A friend of Chris, who reportedly spoke to him less than an hour before he was killed, said Chris believed Justin had been smoking pot while driving earlier in the day.
Meanwhile, driving the Toyota Highlander which struck Chris was a 69-year-old Los Angeles woman, who had two small grandchildren in the back seat. The Vancouver Sun reports that the woman was distraught after the crash and she was believed not to be at fault for the accident. Police said she was unlikely to be cited.
